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The young cricketer is prepared for the national team to throw me in the deep end” as he gears up to guide the side for the debut against Ireland on midweek, making him the country’s most junior skipper in men’s cricket.

With Harry Brook given a break for this condensed three-match Twenty20 series in a Dublin suburb, just outside Dublin, the 21-year-old fills the role to further his brisk rise in international cricket. He made his national team bow last September and impressed in his first Test series against New Zealand at the end of the year. Yet to seal a regular place in the Test lineup, he has emerged as an first-choice selection in Brendon McCullum’s white-ball teams.

“The coach gave me a ring and said I was going to be captain,” said Bethell. “Not much has been said of why I’ve been selected for the role. I’m unsure of the exact thinking of those making decisions. I guess it’s possibly just a show of confidence, and showing a belief. It’ll prove nice to see how I perform under pressure, and I’m sure that the people who made the decision would want to observe that too.”

“I enjoy when things come at a quick tempo, it tends to get me up and going. So I like those moments, not that they always work. But hopefully this one does.”

Despite plenty of veteran players in the lineup to play Ireland, Bethell’s rise is in tune with the coaching staff’s wilder impulses when it comes to selection. He will need to rely on his previous experience of guiding England Under-19s.

Style of Captaincy

“Youthful and fresh,” replied a grinning Bethell when asked what type of captain he is. “The key aspect I’ve admired in skippers I’ve had previously is how they work with teammates. Some on-field choice you make is going to succeed, but it’s supporting the boys well so they feel you’re backing them. I’ve got no set notions of how I’ll approach it.”

He has regained touch with the batting since he was announced as skipper last four weeks, having hit his first professional century in the final one-dayer against the Proteas less than a two weeks ago. “I had a break for a period and maybe slipped in form, but felt that flow return about in the middle of the tournament so it’s fantastic to be back feeling good.” He did not get dragged into any in-depth discussion: “I’m firmly focused to these matches.”

Rivals Threats

One batsman and Paul Stirling “are the two key challenges with the bat” for the opposition, said the skipper. The home side enter short on match practice having had no games since June – a polar opposite to the visitors – and will be missing the whippy left-arm pace of a key bowler, on the recovery from a side strain. However, the only finished T20 encounter between these two sides brought an Irish victory in Australia at the global tournament three years ago, a signal that it might not prove all smooth for Bethell over the next week.